Question

Amazon.com: 4 Tube, 4 Foot, T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture w/ bulbs: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I have been looking at getting this fixture and mounting it from the ceiling above my 55g tank. Will the plastic brace in the middle of the tank obstruct too much of the light from this rig? Is it bad mojo to remove that brace? I'm assuming yes it is bad because I have 3 55g tanks and they all have the brace. My main question would be... will this thing work as far as anyone can tell for corals?

It seems it would but I'm pretty well a nub but I figured it was a decent light setup for the money unless anyone has a better option for less.

 

I can't really comment on the light, other than 1) it is good that it has individual reflectors 2)the ballast is probably crap 3) you will have to buy new bulbs for it 4) it will probably be fine for softies

As for removing the center brace on the 55 gallon tank, I would not do that. The tank will bow a considerable amount and the structural integrity will be severely compromised. There will be a shadow from the brace but it is not that significant.

 

Yes, removing the brace would be bad... very bad.

That unit is not specified as "T5HO"; considering that it's not for reef tanks, it's probably safe to assume that it is a standard output (low wattage) fixture, which means it will not have enough output for corals, nor will you be able to find reef-grade bulbs for it.

 

Just put your low light corals under the braces shadow. Like some Sun Corals or Dendros

 

With the light, you would at least need to change the bulbs which would probably run you another $100. The individual reflectors are good, not sure about the ballast. You could probably find something else that you wouldn't have to change the bulbs on right away. As for the center brace don't take it out. I have one on my tank and with the t5s there is no shadow at all. The only shadow you see is when the LED moonlights are on. Even then it is very minimal.

 

I figured the brace removal would be idiotic.

Sadly I thought t5 fixtures were all the same aside from the bulbs. The ballasts have a 5 year warranty. Oh well. I will probably end up doing some sort of an LED kit. I want to get the lights first because to me that is one of the most difficult parts of the system. I also don't want to spend a majority of my money on lights. I'm sure I could drop 300-500 dollars on a light system for a 55g tank but being the kind of person that tinkers with electronics I know there is in no way even half of that in supplies to build the fixtures. I was going to go with t5s because it seemed simple. I suppose that I might just end up doing LED for the light mixtures and capability. I'm always afraid I will over do it though if I do it myself because I can make a fixture with a ton of LEDs but I don't want to bleach my corals when I get them. I suppose that's why we have dimmers. I'm also not too handy at soldering but I guess that is also what practice is for... LOL.

Thanks for the info everyone. I want to do this so bad but I have a little one on the way and I can't just fork out a couple grand to start up and I have to be sensible about it all. I know I can just about DIY everything if I need to. I was just looking for a semi cheaper alternative than buying a whole system for a reef tank because every time I look at them they are hundreds of dollars.

 

Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures

Maybe someone would be interested in this site. They have some nice fixtures and some are HO. All are t5 I think but I didn't look into it too much. They seem to have a nice selection.

 

Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

Check these out. This would definitely get you started. The bulbs might not be the best but you can change them down the road. Most people do that with any fixture anyway. I know Mawnkey just got one of these for his 40B. You might PM him or check out his build thread and see what he thinks.

 

Based on the product description of 238W for 4 bulbs I would say it is T5HO. You definitely will want to get different bulbs for a reef tank at the start.

 

Nice catch! Thank you, John- I totally missed that.